Academics
TimesQuest
Build multiplication, division, fractions on the number line, and area with Arlo the array-ant and friends — CRA manipulatives with read-aloud check-kits, for grade 3 (ages 8–9).
▶ Play it nowBuilt for sittings of about 15 minutes on the screen. That is our design budget, not a measurement.
Meet your mentor
Every Spark & Anvil app has a friendly mentor character that demonstrates, asks, and patiently scaffolds learning. On-device AI personalizes the mentor's responses to your kid's progress — never connecting to a server, never collecting data.
Mentored by Marlo
#3E7CB1 Characters who teach
Meet the cast
TimesQuest is a math app for ages 8 to 9 set in the Times Workshop. Arlo the ant lines a crew into equal rows to multiply, Divi the otter shares a pile fairly to divide, Parti the beaver splits a hard fact into two easy ones, Una the inchworm cuts a whole into equal parts on the number line, Mosa the tortoise tiles a rectangle to find area, and Zola the roadrunner practices facts without pressure. Marlo the fennec fox is the mentor who meets every wrong answer kindly.
Arlo
Multiplication — equal groups & arrays — a tidy ant who marches a crew into equal rows to make an array; repeated equal groups IS multiplication (CCSS 3.OA)
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Divi
Division — a fair-minded otter who deals a pile out into equal groups; division is the array shared back out, and the inverse of a times fact (CCSS 3.OA)
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Parti
Distributive / break-apart → fluency — a beaver who splits a hard fact into two easy known ones (7×8 = 7×5 + 7×3) and adds the parts (CCSS 3.OA.B.5)
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Una
Unit fractions on the number line — a green inchworm who cuts a whole into exactly equal steps and stands on the line; 1/4 is a number, a place (CCSS 3.NF)
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Mosa
Area & the array–area link — a slow, sure tortoise who tiles a rectangle with unit squares; area IS rows × columns, and the edge is perimeter (CCSS 3.MD)
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Zola
Fact fluency (anti-shame) — a quick roadrunner who practices a fact till it pops; speed is a gift of kind practice, never a timed test, never a race lost (CCSS 3.OA.C.7)
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Marlo
Mentor — a big-eared fennec fox who keeps the Times Workshop; meets every wrong answer with 'show me your thinking', never a sting; a mistake is a map, not a verdict
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Browse all chapters → · What's distributed-narrative methodology? →
What's inside
Learning goal
Build multiplication, division, fractions on the number line, and area with Arlo the array-ant and friends — CRA manipulatives with read-aloud check-kits, for grade 3 (ages 8–9).
Question kits
11 curriculum-aligned question kits, 220 questions in all, mapped to recognized standards.
On-device AI mentor
FoundationModels-powered hints, feedback, and adaptive difficulty — all running locally.
Mentored by Marlo — on-device AI, no data leaves the device.
How TimesQuest handles your kid's data
- ✅ All progress, settings, and AI-generated content stays on the device
- ✅ No analytics, no tracking, no third-party SDKs
- ✅ Free — no ads, no in-app purchases
- ✅ No personal information collected from children — in line with COPPA (updated by the 2026 FTC amendments)
- ✅ No chat with strangers — play-together rooms use a short code and preset emotes, never typed messages
TimesQuest runs on ForgeKit — the open-source Swift Package Manager framework that powers every Spark & Anvil app. ForgeKit ensures consistent accessibility, COPPA compliance, and design language across the portfolio, so your kid's progress and preferences feel coherent across every app they touch.
Coming to the App Store
TimesQuest is in active development. Email us to hear when it ships — no marketing, no spam, just a one-shot launch announcement.
Email me at launch